The man put his arm around me and his chin on my shoulders. He was touching my ear all the time while speaking, and it was a little itchy. “This matter is related to Armond. Tessa and Abe both participated in it, and the hospital surveillance system was damaged. There was no way to get evidence.”
“Tessa?” I was surprised. “How did she get involved?”
“The anesthesia in the hospital was given to you by Abe’s men. It was Abe who took you away. Their initial purpose was to make you disappear for a few hours, but after they handed you to Tessa, they didn’t expect her to take you to the morgue and put you in the freezer.” He put his arms around me and sighed, “Your friend is viler than you realize. Do avoid her as far as possible next time. In fact, it’s better if you don’t meet up with her at all.”
When he finished that, I was stunned for a moment. I still couldn’t fully get what he was saying, so I asked, “Did you mean to say that Abe and Tessa joined forces to harm me?”
He nodded, “After you were given anesthetics, Abe took you into the elevator. But when you got out of the elevator, Tessa took over. Their plan was to let Tessa take you to a hidden place and let you sleep for a few days so that I would not have the peace of mind to take care of the things in Lavelian Village. However, they didn’t expect Tessa to send you there, let alone that I would save you.”
I froze for a few seconds before digesting what he meant. Then I frowned and looked at him. “Tessa took me away today to threaten you, so you would not prosecute Armond. Yet you have already contacted the police and lawyers. Is it possible for you to change anything now?”
He nodded, “Before the case is filed, everything can be changed. Today is the last day to do so.”
I pursed my lips silently for a while and said, “But isn’t Abe already dead? Tessa has been with me all day, and she couldn’t have threatened you. Who else is involved in this?”
He raised his hand to my zipper while his voice was low and resonant. “I haven’t figured this out yet!”
Realizing that he was going to kiss me, I avoided him and said, “How is Armond today? Did you let him go?”
He stretched out his hand to pull me close into his arms, his voice husky, “Mm-hmm!”
I frowned at his response. “He almost killed you, Anthony. How could he let him go so easily? You’re going too easy on him.”
Nonetheless, he was distracted. The man merely hummed a response and trapped me between his legs. I opened my eyes wide and raised my hand to push him away. “Anthony, stop it!”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, Sienna! We’re married!” His voice was a little hoarse. I pursed my lips, pushed him away slightly, and distanced myself from him. “Not today… I’m too sleepy.”
It was true as I slept quite a lot lately.
However, he didn’t let me go, so I pursed my lips and said, “Anthony, I’m really sleepy. I don’t want to!”
This went on for a while.
That night, I was reluctant. Anthony stopped after trying to persuade me a few times. After that, he held me and muttered, “When we have time, we need to make a visit to the hospital!”
At that moment, I was too sleepy to reply sensibly.
The weather was quite rough the next day.
It had been half a month since we came to A City. Cameron called and said that Summer had been prone to catching a cold recently. She didn’t know that until she took Summer out.
It didn’t come much of a surprise to me since K City was cold, and Summer was born prematurely. For all these years, I had lived with her in R Province, and the weather there was just right, so she rarely got sick. Two years ago, we moved to K City suddenly. Hence, with the change in environment, the girl would easily catch a cold now and then. However, this was all considered normal since she needed time to get used to the new environment.
I was on a call with Cameron when Anthony came to me and said, “We have the bidding at Oasis Hotel this afternoon. You should come with me.”
Seeing the serious look on him, I hung up the call and frowned. “Do I have to go? I’m not involved in the tender anyway. Besides, I only know that it’s to find a supplier for the project. If not, Rachel’s two years of hard work would go to waste.”
He handed me a black tie to let me help him with it. “I really think you should go with me. I can’t be at ease if you’re here alone. Tessa has been released from the police station, so I’m worried you might be in danger.”
As soon as he said that, I creased my brow, puzzled. “What? She almost killed me! How can they let her go just after a night? Is law made for nothing?”
He pursed his lips and responded, “Since she did not inflict direct physical harm, the police can’t lay any charges on her, so she can’t be detained for more than twelve hours.”
No direct physical harm? Upon hearing that, I almost fainted right there and then. “That was attempted murder! The police were even at the scene when it happened. How could there be no evidence? So they can only charge a murderer after the victim has died? How ridiculous!”
I could not help but fume as I thought about the times she had harmed me. First, she almost froze me to death in the hospital. And this time, I was almost killed by her again. How could they say there’s no evidence of her crime when all this while she’s been plotting my death?
Seeing that I was shaking with anger, Anthony placed his warm hands on me and calmed me down. “She found someone to bail her out. By the time my subordinates arrived at the police station, she was already gone.”
“Huh? Who bailed her out?” Isn’t she from a small county? And Tabitha told me that she did not have any close friends there. How could she have someone to bail her out?
“It was Derek Watson.” Anthony grabbed my hand and brought me down to the entrance. Then, he asked me to wait for him while he went to get his car.
Mr. Watson? Linda’s ex-husband?
A while later, Anthony drove over and picked me up. I looked at him and asked, “Why is he involved in this matter? I only know that there are some business relations between them. But why would he bail her out? That was her private matter.”
He turned to me and sighed, “Have you ever look into Tessa’s background?”
His question made me even more confused. When he saw me staring at him, he smiled and said, “They had a complicated relationship when they were young. And do you know that she had a tea business?”
His words reminded me that when we were in Venria, Tessa said that she used to have two houses and a Mercedes-Benz when she was in her twenties, and she even had two shops that sold tea leaves. Her assets were probably worth a few million. If she were from a wealthy family, I could understand why a young girl from a rural area could own so much, but she was not. Come to think of it, I realized there was more to her story than what she had told us.
I looked at Anthony, waiting for him to elaborate, but he hesitated and said, “I still need to investigate more before I could explain it to you.”
Although Anthony did not tell me more, I somehow understood the situation. If one looked at Tessa closely, one could see that she had a slight saddle nose deformity and an asymmetrical jaw. She probably had plastic surgery ten years ago and failed to follow up for maintenance, so her facial features had turned crooked over the years.
“How about the things that happened yesterday?” The only one I could think of was him.
As Anthony drove down the road, he deliberated for a while and replied, “I don’t think it’s him. He wouldn’t involve himself in this complicated matter.”
When we arrived at the entrance of the Oasis Hotel, there were many people gathered at the door. They seemed as if they were there to welcome Anthony. I turned to him and asked, “Were you the one who arranged this?”
He shook his head. “It’s not me.”
Later, a middle-aged man with a potbelly came towards us as we walked into the hotel. I did not recognize him at first, but as he came closer, I realized that he was Derek. When he saw Anthony, he rushed over and greeted Anthony enthusiastically. “When I heard that you’re inviting companies to rebid, I can’t wait to come and join it. Mr. Featherstone, I hope you won’t ignore us this time.”
Geez, this man is really awful!
I pursed my lips and held Anthony’s arm. Derek then turned to me and smiled awkwardly. “Ms. Stanhope, long time no see. You’re still as beautiful as ever.”
What I admired about Derek was that he never failed to put up a smile and ingratiate himself with the person he disliked even when both of them knew that they hate each other.
I pursed my lips and frowned, refusing to talk to him. I’ve not forgotten what he did at the bar, and I certainly won’t let it slide. Seeing my attitude, he was not upset at all. He then humbly introduced his company to Anthony and curried favor with him.
On the other hand, Anthony remained silent the whole time, looking impassive as always. I wondered if he paid attention to Derek’s words as I definitely did not listen to any of them.
However, there was one thing I wanted to comment on. I narrowed my eyes at Derek and said, “I see Mr. Watson is a man with multiple careers.”
“Oh, Ms. Stanhope, you’ve misunderstood! How could a person like me own a company? It’s my ambitious wife who established the company. She’s been aspiring to become a successful businesswoman for a long time. So, I took a day off to be here today to help her bid for this project.”
I gave him a faint smile. “Oh, so it belongs to your wife? Seems like I’m the one who had overthought. But I do hope to meet your wife one day.”
Just then, the elevator arrived, and Derek changed the topic, ushering Anthony into the elevator. When we reached the destination, he excused himself and went away.
Anthony glanced at me and said, “You’re normally a quiet person, but you’re surprisingly chatty with Derek just now. Did he offend you before?”
I shrugged nonchalantly and found myself a seat to sit. “Not really, but he did infuriate me before. I really dislike him. He abandoned his wife and his child, and yet he still had the nerve to say that the company belongs to his wife. What a jerk!”
He looked at me curiously and asked, “How did you know about his background?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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